Against the skull {Open}

His little trip to Seere wouldn’t be complete without visiting at least one bar and enjoy the atmosphere of this island to the fullest, now would it? So that was exactly what he was doing tonight. His crew was taking advantage of the opportunities as well, as he could see a few of them wander in or out from time to time. Thanks to the booze he had consumed, he managed to have a few friendly conversations with them. A rare occasion, as he would normally keep his distance. But tonight, they celebrated. Nothing in particular. Just being alive. Wasn’t that a beautiful reason anyway?

Unfortunately, Seere wouldn’t be Seere without someone causing trouble for no apparent reason at all. When he was left alone, a man approached him. Probably thinking he was an easy target. It didn’t make much sense, to be honest. He sure didn’t look like one. The other was obviously wasted though, which could explain the fact that he was looking for a fight. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. The party was really kicking off now. After a short discussion, the man launched his attack. And he was ready to react appropriately.

Or maybe, a bit over the top too. Romeo let the man hit him, a strong punch to the side of his head. This obviously made him think this was an easy win. So he got careless. The euphoric smile on his face quickly faded and turned into disbelief and pain when the Captain had pulled a knife and plunged it into his stomach. He embraced the man as he collapsed, twisting the knife to make the wound more severe. It was not likely he would survive this. And the best part.. No one even bothered to interfere or call a guard. Because here on Seere, no one really cared.

It was probably the anger and frustration that had been building up inside of him that made him make such radical decisions. Perhaps he was overreacting a bit. Who would stab a man just because of an argument and a punch to the face? Then again, he wasn’t one to regret his actions. A life so easily discarded, put to an end in the blink of an eye. And he felt nothing more than slight amusement. The man had made a mistake to come for him, and it was the last one he had ever made. Romeo turned towards the bar again, chugging down the remainder of the rum in his glass before calling the server for another one.

A corpse in a bar wasn’t really great advertisement. But it seemed like it happened often enough for the people around them to not pay attention to it. Eventually two men stepped from behind the bar, to drag the body outside. Romeo turned around, bright amber eyes following their movement, the amused smirk still resting on his lips. That was until he met the gaze of someone who didn’t look all too happy with what had happened. A faint frown pulled his brows up, as he tried to figure out what her deal was.

As if nothing happened, the young man proceeded with his evening. Getting drunk, celebrating life and enjoying his time on the island. Soon they would return to Brightwater Keep, or even make a quick stop on Sunfall. There was this one particular Governor he wanted to speak to, as it had been quite some time since the last time he visited. One day he would settle down. Buy a decent house and stay in the same city. But that day was far into the future. He had goals to achieve, places to go and gold to plunder. Couldn’t do that when he was tied down to a dwelling, right?

For now, those plans were somewhere in the back of his mind though. From the moment he caught the gaze of the woman staring at him, he wondered what the fuck she wanted. When she sighed and leaned back, he could feel the irritation well up again. Though he decided not to act on it, for once. Even in a bar like this, causing too much trouble would have him end up on the street as well. Who knew, maybe even with the same wounds he had caused to the other man earlier.

So he took a last swig from the rum, placed the half empty glass on the bar and made his way to the door. Simply moving to another bar. Or his ship, even. Though the night was still young, and the general atmosphere was quite excited, his mood seemed to shift way too easily tonight. It would be best if he just went back and locked himself in his quarters. Therefore, he started walking towards the harbour, paying close attention to the people around him. His gut feeling warned him not to be careless, and when had it ever been wrong?

Normally the alcohol would dull his aggression. This time though, it was doing the exact opposite. Mentally he was sobered up again, thanks to the burst of adrenaline pumping through his body after the fight. His emotions quickly turned, and he felt more agitated by the second. It was time to go. A simple unexpected touch could turn this whole bar upside down if he wasn’t careful now. Romeo was reckless, impulsive, but not stupid. He knew there was none of his crew present at the moment and if a crowd turned against him, he would lose. In a place like this, that could have dire consequences.

His instincts told him he still wasn’t entirely safe though. While walking down the streets towards the harbour, the uncomfortable feeling only grew stronger with every step he took. He wasn’t entirely sure, but the voice in the back of his mind told him he was being followed. He could guess by who. But her motive? Unknown. Again he had the disadvantage of not knowing this neighbourhood as well as he knew Brightwater Keep. Avoiding the confrontation seemed the better option, but also the most impossible one. So eventually, he stopped in his tracks and turned around. Waiting on his stalker to either catch up or not show up at all.

Trouble always seemed to find him. As if he attracted it like some sort of magnet. The earlier discussion had been unprovoked as well. He had punished the man for his behaviour and now he had to deal with unknown consequences. He was pretty sure the woman was following him. He didn’t know why and honestly he couldn’t be bothered with finding out either. But he had a feeling she wouldn’t let him go that easily. Eventually she would find her way to him and he wanted to avoid her knowing where he was going exactly. So the wisest decision was to stop and wait for her to show up. Confront her and hear what she had to say.

Or, fight her off if he had to. He had left his trusted harpoon back on the Shark, but he had his sword and enough knives to kill a battalion of soldiers if he had to. Her figure wasn’t as intimidating, but she carried this confidence with her that warned him not to underestimate her. If she survived in an environment like this one, she had to be tougher than her physique gave away. She still didn’t say a word, she only fixed him with the same unpleased expression in her eyes. Again, Romeo slightly frowned. ”What do you want”, He asked, irritation lacing his voice as he spoke up. She was testing his patience, that was for sure.

Who did she think she was? Following him like this, obviously not pleased by what he had done in the bar earlier. Was she out for revenge? Had he killed someone she knew? She hadn’t been too interested in saving him though. So it had to be something else. He demanded an explanation. The one she gave, however, was quite cryptic. “You're in debt,” She said, a smug grin gracing her lips. For a second, he wondered if she was referring to the booze he didn’t pay for. But no one would go through all this effort for just a few gold coins, would they? So he analysed the situation again, making all kind of connections in a matter of seconds. Oh. How unfortunate.

Romeo kept himself from putting his hand around the hilt of the sword he was carrying. It was a rookie mistake to do so. He knew exactly where it was if he needed it, the weight of the weapon in the same place it always was. If the situation turned bad, he knew he would be able to pull it out in less than a second. He didn’t want to give away his intentions just yet. Though she had seen him stab the man at the bar without hesitation, so she probably already concluded he knew how to handle a weapon. ”Are you delusional or just incredibly dumb?” He asked her, taunting her with an insult. If she thought he was scared, she would have to readjust her opinion. Because he was not afraid and quite frankly, he wouldn’t pay her anything, even if he was impressed by her words.

Deep down he had always known that his death would involve coin, one way or another. Not like this though. It was insane to think he inherited the debt of a man he didn’t know. Didn’t that go to his next of kin? This brunette was crazy to think he would even consider paying her. The coin he owned was earned through hard work and his ambition only. There was no way he would voluntarily give it away like that. It didn’t fit into his faith either. An ironborn was never in debt, as they just took what they needed either by intimidation or force. He never paid the gold price. Never.

It was hard to read this woman. It surprised him. Usually he was quite good at doing so. She, however, had this secretive aura around her. She was way too confident. And he knew confidence was earned. “Don’t make me repeat myself,” She said, a warning. Romeo huffed, still not impressed. ”That goes both ways”, He replied. It was quite obvious what his answer to this matter was. He wouldn’t pay. Never.